Musical-instrument fall-board.



R. A. GALLY.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT FALL BOARD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7, 1913.

1,174,845. Patented Mar. 7,1916.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0., WASHING-r0! D c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT A.- GALLY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE BALDWIN COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT FALL-BOARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1.916.

Application filed February 7, 1913. Serial No. 746,751.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT A. GALLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical-Instrument Fall-Boards, of which the following is a specification.

Previous structures of fall-boards to cover both keys and music rolls, in musical instruments having player rolls, etc., closely over the manual keys, especially in such forms of pianos as grands or similar horizontal cases, have caused great enlargement and distortion of the instrument; whereas the present invention provides a double fall of little difference in size than the ordinary, no increase of inside measurement of case, and of equally good appearance.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view through the plate and the fall-board at line AB of Fig. 4, showing an end view of the spool and tracker, all the falls being closed; Fig. 2 is a similar view with the music-roll fall and key-slip fall opened for self-playing operation; Fig. 3 is a rear view of the music-roll fall; and Fig. 4 is a front view showing the music-roll fall and fall 3 open. 7

Over the manual keys 1 lies a main fallboard 2 with its front part 3 over the keyslip 4 hinged to main fall 2 so that this front part or key-slip fall 3 can be raised and turned back over the front rail 5 when the main fall 2 is thrown up for manual playing, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. This allows the music desk 6 and its slide 7 to be drawn well forward for convenient sight of sheet music, as in ordinary pianos, and without requiring a higher rim 8 than the usual piano. The front rail 5 is attached to the front of the wrest plank 5 and to the case rim 8 at each end of said rail.. The keyslip fall 3 can also be folded up over the main fall 2 when the main fall is down, as in Fig. 2,'thus uncovering the tempo-handle 9 or other expression controls of the player devices while the keys are covered and the music-roll fall 10 is brought forward and down over the main fall 2 to open to use the music take-up spool 11, tracker-bar 12, or other player parts. The fall-boards 2 and 10 are hinged to a hinge rail 10 The tracker-bar 12 is held on brackets 12 suspended from the front rail 5, which is in two parts, the tracker and brackets being in the space between the two parts of the front rail 5, between which the ledge 13 also comes. \Vhen the music-roll fall 10 is in lowered pos tion over the main fall 2, it acts as a protection agamst music-rolls being dropped on the main fall 2.

A small ledge 13 projects from inside the upper edge of the music-roll fall 10 to cover the tracker l2 safe from dirt or injury and makes a neat closure to the space in front of the front rail 5. lVhen the fall 10 is down over the main fall 2, this ledge 13 serves as a guard to prevent a music-roll from rolling off the fall 10 if laid thereon.

To economize front and rear space, the rear face of the music-roll fall 10 has two narrow vertical grooves or saw-cuts 14 and 15 opposite the flanges 16 of the take-up spool 11, the flanges 16 extending into said grooves 14 and 15 when the fall 10 is closed up. \Vhile a long recess might be made in stead of the two rooves, it wou d greatly weaken the fall 10, and is not needed, as no paper is wound on the spool 11 when the fall 10 is closed.

Various modifications may be made. as in details of curves, hinges, etc., without depart ng from my invention.

\Vhat I claim as my inventi n is:

1. A piano h vin manual keys. a hingerail, a main f ll with a hinge at its rear attach d to said fall and to said hinge-rail, said fall standing in h rizontal position over said kevs when closed, and in substantiallv verti al position when raised. a frontrail immediatelv rearward the upper part of said raised fall, and a front or kev slip fall at the front edge of the main fall. a hinge attached to both said falls at their JPlIll', and having its pin or axis at the upper part of said joint, s id front fall lving forward of the main fall when the. latter is down. and rearward of the main fall and immediately over said front rail when said main fall is up.

2. A piano having manual keys, a hinge rail, a main fall with a hinge at its rear attached to said fall and to said hinge rail, said fall standing in horizontal position over said keys when closed, and in substantially verti al position when raised, a front rail immediatelv rearward the upper part of said raised fall, and a front or key-slip fall at the front edge of the main fall, a l

hinge attached to both said falls at their joint and having its pin or axis at the upper part of said joint, said front fall optionally lying forward, or rearward of and over the main-fall, when said main-fall is closed, and lying rearwardly of said main-fall and immediately over said front rail when the said main fall is raised.

, 3. A piano having manual keys, a mainfall lying horizontally over said keys when closed, and substantially vertical when raised, a hinge atthe rear edge of said keyfall when closed, a music-roll fall standing substantially vertical when closed and horizontally over said horizontally disposed key-fall when open, and having a hinge adjacent to and rearward of said key-fall hinge, and a member to which both said hinges are attached.

at. A piano having manual keys, a mainfall lying horizontally over said keys when closed, and substantially vertical when raised, a hinge at the rear edge of said keyfall when closed, a music-roll fall standing substantially vertical when closed and horizontally over said horizontally disposed keyfall when open, and having a hinge adjacent to and rearward of said key-fall hinge, and a ledge at the inner face of the free edge of said music-roll fall, and a member to which both said hinges are attached.

5. A piano having manual keys having the front parts of some higher than others, a hinge rail adjacent'the rear of said higher front parts and over the keys rearward of said higher parts, a key-fall lying horizontally over said keys when closed and substantially vertical when open, and a hinge connected to said key-fall and to said hinge rail, a music-roll fall standing vertically when closed and horizontally over said horizontally disoosed key-fall when open, and a hinge connected to said music-roll fall and to said hinge rail. v

6. A piano having manual keys, a hingerail, a music-roll fall hinged to said hingerail, said fall standing substantially vertical when closed and horizontally over said keys when open, a music take-up spool in position adjacent to and rearward of said fall when in its vertical position, flanges or heads to said takeup spool extended forward of the rear or inner face of said fall when in its vertical position, and two'vertical grooves in the rear face of said fall, each said groove opposite to and receiving a part of one said flange or head.

7. A piano having manual keys, a hingerail, a main-fall with a hinge at its rear attached to said fall and to said hinge-rail, said fall standing in horizontal position over said keys when closed, and in substantially vertical position when raised, a front-rail immediately rearward of the upper part of said raised fall, and a front or key-slip fall at the front edge of the main fall, a hinge attached to both said falls at their joint and having its pin or axis at the upper part of said joint, said front fall lying forward of the main fall when latter is down, and rearward of the main fall and immediately over said front rail when said main fall is up, and a music-desk having a horizontal slid able mounting and horizontally movable to and from a position immediately over said key-slip fall when said key-slip fall is over said front rail.

8. A piano having manual keys, a'hing rail, a music-roll fall standing substantially vertical when closed, and horizontally over said keys when open, said fall hinged to said hinge-rail, a frcntrail having a recess therein immediately rearward of the upper part of said fall when said fall is in its vertical position, a ledge carried by the moving edge of said fall and extended into the upper part of said recess when said fall is in its vertical position, and a tracker bar in said recess below said ledge.

ROBT. A. GALLY.

Witnesses:

S. M. TVAMACKS, FREDERICK S. Gnsr.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C. 

